Out Athletes

Vince Pryor was gay to his TCU team years before Carder arrived on campus

John Dillinger (Photo by: Robbie Quinn) John Dillinger did a double-take as he walked through the lobby of the Seaport Marina Hotel in Long Beach, Calif., one night in 2005 after a baseball game. He saw a flier with a “really good-looking, furry, muscular guy on it.” It advertised Bear Night once a month at […]

Featherweight boxer Orlando Cruz has become the first big-time active professional boxer to come out as gay. According to USA Today, Cruz, who has a strong professional record of 18-2-1, said he wants to be out as his career continues to build: I've been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my […]

Boyfriend's age is poked at in spoof

SB Nation's fantastic 10-minute video features interviews of Kuntz, school officials, players and family

North Dakota State College of Science coach Chuck Parsons dismisses gay player

Aussie Rules football player Jason Ball has come out of the closet publicly. He’s using the opportunity to launch a change.org campaign to encourage the AFL to show an anti-homophobia ad at their Grand Final, which is the AFL’s equivalent of the Super Bowl. The game is at the end of September. Ball's story reflects […]

“I hated myself, I hated myself for what I was,” Thomas “Bozzy” Boswell says at the beginning of his wonderfully moving 12-minute YouTube video (see below) detailing his experience as a closeted gay teenager and his triumphant coming out story. As the captain of his rugby team in Quaker Yards, Wales, Boswell was trying to […]

Stephen Bickford was a highly recruited prep soccer player who attended the University of North Carolina in the middle of the last decade, but never realized his potential. He chalks this up to the incredible emotional strain of living as a closeted gay athlete. Bickford, 26 on Aug. 26, tells his story in a well-written […]

Matthew Mitcham (Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images) Story updated.The number of openly gay and lesbian athletes at the 2012 London Summer Olympics is ahead of the totals for Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008, with all but three being lesbians. There are 23 openly gay and lesbian London Olympians, plus two coaches. There are also […]

It’s still dark in his small Upper East Side apartment when the alarm clock introduces Wade Davis to this Thursday morning in late May. His partner, Steven, sleeps while Davis slips into his regalia: A checkered shirt, slick pants and a bright tie. He kisses Steven and says good-bye. He’ll be back in a few […]

The United States has never had a publicly out male gymnast participate in the Olympics. Josh Dixon hopes to be the first. The Stanford grad took a big step toward that goal at the U.S. Men’s Qualifier on Saturday in Colorado Springs, finishing second overall out of the 72 competitors. He also tied for wins […]

Derick White By Derick White I’ll get right to the point. My name is Derick White and I am a former collegiate head coach. I am also gay. I remained in the closet for my entire coaching career because of one simple factor – fear. I will explain this in more detail in a bit, […]

The former Major League Lacrosse goalie says coming out simply isn't enough anymore

Brian Healey is captain of the men’s tennis team at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. By Brian Healey I came out to two of my best friends on one of Saint Michael’s most storied days of revelry. P-Day at Saint Mike’s is our answer to the traditional “Spring Weekend” before finals. It feels like […]

Moments after professional soccer player David Testo publicly came out of the closet in an interview with Radio-Canada’s Marie Malchelosse, the reporter warned Testo that his revelation would have far-reaching implications. Testo felt bad for Malchelosse: She seemed like a nice woman, and he was afraid she was too excited about a story that wouldn’t […]

Editor’s note: At 15, Los Angeles volleyball player Galen Dodd is likely the youngest athlete who has ever told his coming out story for Outsports. He contacted us and had the full backing of his parents, who helped him edit the story. By Galen Dodd Three dates will forever be ingrained in my mind: July […]

By Ben Baldus-Strauss and Evan Heiter, with Cyd Zeigler Evan Heiter (left) and Ben Baldus-Strauss Editor’s Note: Ben and Evan were teammates on the 2010 men’s gymnastics national championship team at the University of Michigan. At the time, Evan was out on the team and had been for a while; Ben was in the closet […]

Two decades of openly queer college coaching, or, how my both being out of the closet and unapologetically gay has helped make my teams winners. By Charley SullivanAssociate Head Coach, Men’s RowingUniversity of MichiganThis is not a coaching coming out story; it’s a coaching while already being out story, which is, perhaps, a different animal […]

Growing up, Vincent Pryor fought for years the fact that he was gay. It was especially hard since he was a starter on TCU's football team. But after being true to himself, he felt liberated and set a school record. After 17 years, he shares his story.By Jim BuzinskiOutsports.comVincent Pryor lined up as a pass […]